New Archery Range Opens at Panola Mountain State Park
Ceremony set for 9 a.m. on April 7

STOCKBRIDGE, GA, March 23, 2011 — A new archery range at Panola Mountain State Park in Stockbridge will soon be available for archers, bow hunters, youth groups and others interested in perfecting their target skills. The public grand opening celebration is set for 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 7, with hotdogs and hamburgers provided by Friends of Panola Mountain State Park.

Constructed on the eastern edge of what used to be Southerness Golf Course, The Archery Range at Panola Mountain consists of two ranges. The first is a static range, built on an old fairway with 12 lanes from 10 – 50 yards in length. Here, archers shoot into large “bow butt” targets that are secured into freestanding target sheds. The second range is a ¾ mile 3-D trail with realistic targets on 22 lanes. The targets include a mix of Georgia’s game animals.

The range will serve as a resource for area archers and bow hunters, for park programming activities and for school groups participating in the National Archery in Schools Program. Users need to bring their own gear. To reduce impact to targets, broadheads are not allowed.

To help the park maintain the range, users will pay a $10 daily ($5 for children 12 and younger) or $100 individual/$150 family annual ($50 for children 12 and younger) fee. Permits may be purchased at the park’s Nature Center or from a permit box near the range entrance.

In early 2010, ground was broken at Panola Mountain State Park on the construction of the public-access archery range. The development of the range has been a collaborative effort between Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites Division and Wildlife Resources Division. Using Pittman-Robertson federal grant money, WRD has supplied materials needed for construction while, Panola will manage, administer and maintain the range.

The Archery Range at Panola Mountain is located near the park’s Alexander Lake off Alexander Lake Road and will be open 7 a.m. until dusk. To learn more, visit www.GaStateParks.org/PanolaMountain or call 770-389-7801.